14N and 81Br Quadrupolar Nuclei as Sensitive NMR Probes of n-Alkyltrimethylammonium Bromide Crystal Structures. An Experimental and Theoretical Study

n-Decyltrimethylammonium bromide

The title compound, C13H30N+·Br− (systematic name: N,N,N-trimethyl-1-decanaminium bromide), forms crystals having a bilayer structure, comprised of layers of trimethylammonium cations and bromide anions separated by the inter-digitated n-decyl groups of the cation; close ammonium-methyl-C—H...Br contacts connect the ions. The n-decyl chain adopts a slightly distorted all-trans conformation. The n-decyl chain exhibits positional disorder with all atoms at half occupancy. The sample was a racemic twin.

Understanding the structure and dynamics of cationic surfactants from studies of pure solid phases

Unravelling the phase behaviour of n-alkyltrimethylammonium bromides (C₁₀ to C₁₈): from tight-packed interdigitation to rotational disorder with increasing temperature.

Intermolecular interactions in AST zeolites through 14N NMR and DFT calculations

The structure of the silica AST zeolites (octadecasil) synthesized in fluoride medium using tetramethylammonium (TMA) as the organic structure-directing agent has been reinvestigated using 14N NMR quadrupolar parameters and DFT calculations. The value of the experimental 14N quadrupolar coupling constant (CQ = 27 kHz) is larger than expected for a TMA cation possessing a high degree of motion. The analysis of a DFT-optimized octadecasil cluster along with the comparison between measured and calculated 14N NMR parameters demonstrate the presence of weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds between the TMA in the [46612] cages and the silica skeleton. These intermolecular interactions can be related to the presence of Si...F tetrel bonds within the [46] cages. These new results provide additional information with regard to the formation mechanisms and structure of the octadecasil zeolites.

Preferential orientations of structure directing agents in zeolites

The local structure of as-synthesised silicalite-1 zeolites is modified using asymmetric R(Pr)3N(+) structure directing agents. Using multi-nuclear NMR ((1)H, (13)C, (14)N, (19)F, (29)Si), we show for the first time the ability of these cations to adopt preferential orientations at the zeolite channels' crossing.

Structure and dynamics of room temperature ionic liquids with bromide anion: results from 81Br NMR spectroscopy

We report the results of a comprehensive (81)Br NMR spectroscopic study of the structure and dynamics of two room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C(4)mim]Br) and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bromide ([C(4)C(1)mim]Br), in both liquid and crystalline states. NMR parameters in the gas phase are also simulated for stable ion pairs using quantum chemical calculations. The combination of (81)Br spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation measurements in the motionally narrowed region of the stable liquid state provides information on the correlation time of the translational motion of the cation. (81) Br quadrupolar coupling constants (C(Q)) of the two RTILs were estimated to be 6.22 and 6.52 MHz in the crystalline state which were reduced by nearly 50% in the liquid state, although in the gas phase, the values are higher and span the range of 7-53 MHz depending on ion pair structure. The C(Q) can be correlated with the distance between the cation-anion pairs in all the three states. The (81)Br C(Q) values of the bromide anion in the liquid state indicate the presence of some structural order in these RTILs, the degree of which decreases with increasing temperature. On the other hand, the ionicity of these RTILs is estimated from the combined knowledge of the isotropic chemical shift and the appropriate mean energy of the excited state. [C(4)C(1)mim]Br has higher ionicity than [C(4)mim]Br in the gas phase, while the situation is reverse for the liquid and the crystalline states.

Recent NMR developments applied to organic-inorganic materials

In this contribution, the latest developments in solid state NMR are presented in the field of organic-inorganic (O/I) materials (or hybrid materials). Such materials involve mineral and organic (including polymeric and biological) components, and can exhibit complex O/I interfaces. Hybrids are currently a major topic of research in nanoscience, and solid state NMR is obviously a pertinent spectroscopic tool of investigation. Its versatility allows the detailed description of the structure and texture of such complex materials. The article is divided in two main parts: in the first one, recent NMR methodological/instrumental developments are presented in connection with hybrid materials. In the second part, an exhaustive overview of the major classes of O/I materials and their NMR characterization is presented.

Studies on structures of lipid A-monophosphate clusters

Single crystalline clusters of lipid A-monophosphate were grown from organic dispersions containing 5-15% (v/v) water at various volume fractions, φ, and temperatures. The morphology of the single lipid A-monophosphate crystals was either rhombohedral or hexagonal. The hexagonal crystals were needlelike or cylindrical in shape, with the long dimension parallel to the c axis of the unit cell. The crystalline clusters were studied using electron microscopy and x-ray powder diffraction. Employing molecular location methods following a Rietveld refinement and whole-pattern refinement revealed two monoclinic crystal structures in the space groups P2(1) and C2, both converged with R(F) = 0.179. The two monoclinic crystal structures were packing (hydrocarbon chains) and conformational (sugar) polymorphs. Neither of these two structures had been encountered previously. Only intramolecular hydrogen bonding was observed for the polymorphs, which were located between the amide and the carboxyl groups. Another crystalline structure was found in the volume-fraction range 2.00 × 10(-3) ≤ φ ≤ 2.50 × 10(-3), which displayed hexagonal symmetry. The hexagonal symmetry of the self-assembled lipid A-monophosphate crystalline phase might be reconciled with the monoclinic symmetry found at low-volume-fractions. Therefore, lowering the symmetry from cubic, i.e., Ia 3d, to rhombohedral R 3 m, and finally to the monoclinic space group C2 was acceptable if the lipid A-monophosphate anion was completely orientationally ordered.

Two new colloidal crystal phases of lipid A-monophosphate: order-to-order transition in colloidal crystals

A study of the structure of stable regular-shaped nanocrystals of hexa-acylated (C(14)) lipid A-monophosphate from Escherichia coli was carried out using dilute electrostatically stabilized aqueous dispersions at low ionic strength (I=1.0x10(-5)M NaCl). An order-to-order transition of colloidal clusters of lipid A-monophosphate was found at two volume fractions: phi=5.9x10(-4) and phi=11.5x10(-4). The clusters belonged to the cubic space groups Pm3n and Ia3d with unit-cell dimensions of a=4.55 nm and a=6.35 nm, respectively, as revealed by small-angle x-ray diffraction and electron-diffraction results of thin nanocrystals of lipid A-monophosphate. When viewed in the scanning electron microscope these fragile clusters displayed a number of shapes: cubic, cylindrical, and sometimes-rounded hexagons, which were extremely sensitive when exposed to an electron beam. The smallest and most numerous of the clusters appeared as approximately 7 nm cubes. Crystalline cluster formation occurred over a wide volume-fraction range, between 1.5x10(-4) and 40.0x10(-4), and at temperatures of 20 and 35 degrees C. The crystalline networks of the lipid A-monophosphate clusters may be represented by space-filling models of two pentagonal dodecahedra with six tetrakaidecahedra arrangements of lipid A-"micelles" in the cubic space group Pm3n. The simulated electron density profiles are in accord with spherical clusters of lipid A-monophosphate at the corners and at the body centers of the cubic Pm3n unit cell. The profiles are rounded tetrahedrally at distances of 1/4 and 3/4 along one of the bisectors of each face of the cubic unit cell. These nanocrystalline systems provide examples of "cellular" crystalline networks, which rearrange themselves spontaneously into three-dimensional polyhedral structures. It appears that a closely related analogy exists between the tetrahedrally close-packed networks as revealed for the lipid A-mono- and diphosphates [C. A. Faunce, H. Reichelt, H. H. Paradies, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 122, 214727 (2005); C. A. Faunce, H. Reichelt, P. Quitschau, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 127, 115103 (2007)]. However, the cubic Ia3d phase consists of two three-dimensional networks of rods, mutually intertwined but not connected. For this cubic Ia3d phase each junction involves three coplanar rods at an angle of 120 degrees, showing an interwoven labyrinth of lipid A-monophosphate rods which are connected three by three. The rod diameter is approximately 2.2 nm, which is similar in diameter to the disk-shaped aliphatic chiral core of lipid A-monophosphate (2.14 nm) with an ellipticity of 0.62 seen for the "c" position of the tetrakaidecahedra in the Pm3n cubic unit cell. An epitaxial relationship appears to exist between the {211} planes of the cubic Ia3d phase and the (001) planes of the lamellar phase as well as with the {10} planes of the hexagonal phase. The transformation of the cubic into the hexagonal phase can be reconciled by the growth of a cylinderlike assembly of lipid A-monophosphate molecules of the hexagonal phase parallel to the 111 directions of the cubic Ia3d phase. Upon cooling from 35 to 20 degrees C the cubic Ia3d lipid A-monophosphate phase unexpectedly transforms and gives rise to an intermediate R3m structure (a=3.90+/-0.12 nm, c=7.82+/-0.05 nm, and gamma=120 degrees). Both cubic Ia3d and hexagonal R3m phases originate from similar rodlike units of lipid A-monophosphate clusters. However, the overall shapes of the assemblies are different because of their spatial distribution. Both assemblies morphologically bridge the lipid A-monophosphate hexagonal and and lamellar phases. The structural path followed during the phase transitions is governed by topological similarities between the phase which forms and the one from which it originates. Although the two phases, Ia3d and R3m, have similar curvature energies on cooling, the topology is more than likely to be the initial factor determining the overall phase transition path.